Mr.
Chairperson, we have documented allegations of grave human rights
abuses--killings, rapes, beatings--by security personnel employed by Canadian
companies. The seriousness of these alleged abuses and the absence to date of
accountability point clearly to the need for a bill like Bill C-300,
which would create an independent mechanism to receive and examine complaints by
victims.

In the
course of our work, we have interviewed more than 250 individuals, including
alleged victims, witnesses, family members of alleged victims, local residents,
local and international civil society, health officials, government officials,
police, mine staff, and current and former PJV security guards. We have also
reviewed medical and police records.

In Porgera,
poverty drives locals to trespass on what is now mine property. Certainly, some
of the cases of use of force by PJV's guards have likely been justified, either
in the defence of property or of life. However, I would like to share with you
today accounts of rapes we have documented that have been especially brutal and
that are, of course, without any possible justification.

Numerous
accounts of rapes show a similar pattern. The guards, usually in a group of five
or more, find a woman while they are patrolling on or near mine property. They
take turns threatening, beating, and raping her. In a number of cases, women
reported to me being forced to chew and swallow the condoms used by guards
during the rape.

Most of the
women told me that they did not report the rapes for fear of retribution. Those
who had stated that the police took no action. If a woman's family finds out
about the abuse, she is often further shunned. In no cases were the women aware
of any investigation, prosecution, or punishment of the alleged
perpetrators.

I would
like to highlight for the committee one particular incident that a 25-year-old
woman reported to me in March this year. Her account went as
follows.

She resided
just a few minutes' walk from the mine and often went there to look for gold.
She used the money she made from selling it to buy basic necessities, such as
clothing and food, for members of her family. In 2008, five PJV security guards
caught her while she was on mine property. She told me that the guards asked her
if she wanted to go home or if she wanted to be sent to jail. When she replied
that she wanted to go home, they said that they would rape her first.

She
explained to me that she tried to run, but that they held her, tore off her
shorts, tore off her shirt and her underwear, and threw her down on the rocks.
She said that each of the five took turns raping her while the others guarded
the road. They pointed their guns at her and threatened to shoot if she tried to
escape. They beat her legs and hit her with stones. They held her head down with
the butt of a gun. She showed me the scars on her shoulder and hand, which she
told me were the result of struggling during the rapes.

A male
relative of hers stated that he witnessed part of this attack and reported it to
police, but they appear to have taken no action.

This is
just one example of many cases of alleged abuse that we have documented.
Security guards have themselves recounted to me abuses that they have either
witnessed or committed. In fact, during one of my trips to PNG in 2006, I
witnessed a guard yelling at a local woman that he had raped many women, and he
was calling for her to come near him so that he could rape her too.

Mr.
Chairperson, committee members, we have documented serious and consistent
allegations of grave human rights abuses at a mine owned and operated by a
Canadian company. Allegations date back nearly 20 years, and violence appears to
be ongoing. Despite the seriousness of these allegations, little has been done
to investigate.

But the
victims have a right to have their complaints investigated in a transparent,
comprehensive, and independent manner. Bill C-300
is a step in the right direction in providing an independent venue to which
victims may complain. Importantly, the bill also has the potential to deter and
prevent future incidents of brutal violence by promoting accountability for the
actions of Canadian companies overseas.